A former caseworker at the Association of Africans Living in Vermont is facing a charge of embezzlement for pocketing $34,000 in tax refunds of two of her clients in recent years, Burlington Police said Friday.

Francine Mbayu, 43, of Burlington is due in Vermont Superior Court on Oct. 30 for arraignment on the felony embezzlement count, police said.

Detective Cpl. Michael Hemond said Mbayu diverted the tax refunds of the two victims between 2011 and 2014 into her bank account and illegally retained all or a portion of each refund.

Mbayu has paid back all but about $5,800 of the money she swiped, Hemond said in a news release.

Attempts to reach Mbayu, who works at Fletcher Allen Health Care, were unsuccessful. She had no known lawyer, police said.

If convicted, Mbayu could be imprisoned for 10 years and fined up to $10,000, police said.

The names of the victims were not released, but were identified only as a 38-year-old South Burlington resident and a 51-year-old Burlington residents.

State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said his office has worked with police on the case.

"We take these kinds of cases seriously," Donovan said.

"We are concerned given the nature of the allegations for the clientele that this organization services. We want to make sure they have full protection, especially new Americans," Donovan said.

The association reported the embezzlement to police Sept. 25, Hemond said. A subsequent investigation of financial activity from 2011-2014 was conducted by detectives with help from state and federal tax investigators, Hemond said.

The Vermont association is based at the former St. Joseph School on Allen Street in Burlington's Old North End. It was founded in 1999. Its website notes that it is a nonprofit that works with various refugee and immigrant groups.